Outlandish New Hot Dogs Land at Santa Monica’s Third St. Promenade

Eater Los Angeles September 05, 2018

Santa Monica is about to get a new hot dog stand to call its own, with the Saturday arrival of Sumo Dog to Third Street Promenade. The city is already home to the world’s first ever Hot Dog On a Stick (which dates to 1946), but now Sumo Dog chef/owner Jeffrey Lunak is ready to show off a few new tricks.

As with every Sumo Dog menu, from the music festival versions to last year’s Koreatown storefront, the focus is on more than just meat and bun. Ingredients and toppings include everything from spicy miso beef chili to tonkatsu sauce, furikake, and togarashi cheese sauce, with tater tots on the side and soft serve for dessert. Now the question is whether or not the mix of tourists and locals that populate the Promenade will go for the inventive creations with just as much fervor as the Coachella crowds.

Sumo Dog is heading into some prime property, landing at the reborn Gallery food court where the Voltaggios have their Strfsh restaurant while Dave Beran’s fine dining spot Dialogue hides in the back. Reps tell Eater that the plan is to open by this coming Saturday with a full menu as well as beer and wine. What’s more, Lunak and company will be doing a buy one, get one free deal on their signature dogs all day long.

Sumo Dog

Signage for the old Sumo Dog in Koreatown Wonho Frank Lee Eater has also confirmed that Sumo Dog will be adding a standalone hot dog cart to the upcoming Palisades Village project, slated to open at the end of the month. The menu will be more limited from the cart — mostly classic Sumo dogs plus bacon banh mi and the kimchi dog — but will stay open daily, running hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Expect that smaller opening sometime in the next several weeks.